Crosswalk Etiquette Question

[LuFins Dad]

Was walking through a busy intersection with one of my younger employees today. At the crosswalk, there was only one car coming, so I stopped my employee and waived the car through, then crossed. He looked at me like I was nuts. “We had the right of way!” He said. “Yes, but letting him go through cost us 5 seconds, but if we made him wait for us to walk across it would have cost him 30…” He kept looking at me like I was nuts…

What’s your opinion? What do you do as a pedestrian in that situation?

[Horace]

My instinct is always to do what you did, but laws can complicate things. If a person is in a crosswalk, it is illegal in some places for a car to drive through. I don’t bother waving cars through anymore. If they appear intended to wait, I just hurry through as fast as is reasonable. I might have even given a token trot in my younger days. No longer will I do a token trot, but I hope they know I’m trotting in spirit.

[jon-nyc]

I’ll wave them by if there’s no one behind them.

[Copper]

I always wave the car through.

I don't want to stand there watching him slow down.

If they insist on stopping. I don't walk, I run, sprint(almost 70 years old), across the street.

I just can't stand watching someone jam up traffic, especially if I am the jammer.

I refuse to cause a traffic jam.

[Jolly]

Wave 'em...

[Horace]

I think my turning point was when I would get stared down by drivers in CA, intent on not getting a ticket for a crosswalk violation.

[George K]

Yup. Wave them through. The last thing I'd want is to mis-read the driver's intent and end up being a new hood ornament.

[LuFins Dad]

@Horace said in Crosswalk Etiquette Question:

I think my turning point was when I would get stared down by drivers in CA, intent on not getting a ticket for a crosswalk violation.

I don’t think that it’s about getting a ticket. I think people get this almost religious idea that pedestrian are more worthy and should always get to cross first. And frankly, most of the pedestrians act that way. I’ve never seen a pedestrian wave me through in the past 10 years or more… And beyond that I’ve had pedestrians that were still 10 seconds from the crosswalk get pussed when I went ahead through…

[Mik]

@Horace said in Crosswalk Etiquette Question:

I think my turning point was when I would get stared down by drivers in CA, intent on not getting a ticket for a crosswalk violation.

If you haven't lived there you cannot imagine how ingrained it is in them. It doesn't have to be a crosswalk either.

[89th]

Yup, wave the car through. You are not nuts.

[Doctor Phibes]

@Mik said in Crosswalk Etiquette Question:

@Horace said in Crosswalk Etiquette Question:

I think my turning point was when I would get stared down by drivers in CA, intent on not getting a ticket for a crosswalk violation.

If you haven't lived there you cannot imagine how ingrained it is in them. It doesn't have to be a crosswalk either.

Probably better than the alternative which I've seen elsewhere - the car drives on at high speed, assuming the pedestrian will get out of the way.

[Horace]

They'll get out of the way under their own power or otherwise, I guess. Reminds me of a recent post here.